Monday, July 06, 2009

Moe's Books has added MP3 audio of my poetry reading with Garry Lambrev to their archives. If you missed the reading, it was a wonderful night of poetry, if I do say so myself (short, too.) This reading was part of my book tour promoting Zero Summer.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

I met KayaOakes in grad school at St. Mary's College, Moraga, CA (as featured in The New Yorker as an outstanding MFA program, so there) in 1995. She is one of the smartest, drollest, most talented poet/writer that I am privileged to call my friend. Please buy her new book, Slanted and Enchanted, The Evolution of Indie Culture.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

This might seem like a huge number, but Amazon's ranking system goes all the way down to #9,000,000. Zero Summer's sale ranking is right along side Randall Mann, D. A. Powell, and Brenda Hillman's new one.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

If you are in the SF BAY AREA on TUESDAY JUNE 9, 2009 7:30p, why not pop by Moe's Books, Berkeley and hear Garry Lambrev and me read our poetry? I will be reading from my new book, Zero Summer (BlazeVOX [books] NY 2009) as well as some newer work. I'd love to see you there!

-Andrew

Readings and Events at Moe's

Moe's literary events began as a weekly poetry reading called Monday@Moe's. Over the years Moe's Books has become one of the premier Bay Area venues to hear novelists, poets, activists, and scholars read from their works. We archive our events in audio and video files that can be accessed from our webpage.

Unless otherwise mentioned, all events begin at 7:30pm.

Upcoming events:

Tuesday, June 9th, 7:30p: Andrew Demcak and Garrett Lambrev

Andrew Demcakis an award-winning poet whose poetry has been widely published and anthologized, and whose books have been featured at The Best American Poetry and Oranges & Sardines. His latest book, Zero Summer, was published by BlazeVOX [Books], NY, 2009. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Lambda Award, Thom Gunn Poetry Award, both theCalifornia and Northern California Book Awards, Best of the Web, and others. He has an M. F. A. in English/Creative Writing from St. Mary's College in Moraga, CA , where he studied with Robert Hass, Brenda Hillman, Michael Palmer, Carol Snow, Frank Bidart, Gary Snyder, Charles Wright, and Sharon Olds. Andrew is also a member of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, where he studied with Galway Kinnell, Richard Howard, and Lucille Clifton. His poems, including Young Man With iPod (Poetry Midwest, #13), are taught at Ohio State University as part of both its English 110.02 class, "The Genius and the Madman," and in its "American Poetry Since 1945" class. At the age of 23, Andrew published his first chapbook, The Psalms (Big 23 Press), which was favorably reviewed by Dr. Clifton Snider in the Small Press Review (issue 226, vol. 23, no. 11.)

Garrett "Garry" Lambrev started writing poems as a rite of puberty and hasn't stopped yet. Following his graduation from Peoples Temple in 1976, he joined the Cloud House movement in SF, engendered by Kush, and began reading on the streets and in the parks of Berkeley with fellow poets Clif Ross and Bob Rivera as The Rosa Luxemburg-Dorothy Day Cultural Brigade, coming to rest each Friday afternoon in the mini plaza in front of Cody's. Though he's published only intermittently over the last few decades, mostly in small and ephemeral literary magazines, early last year Berkeley's Beatitude Press published his first book length work, Dogstar and Poems from Other Planets: 1964-1989. He is presently completing a second collection, Galaxies Inside the Heart: 1990-2009 from which he will also be reading.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

According to OCLC's WorldCat, The University of Arizona, The University of Maryland, and Indiana University have all just recently purchased my book Zero Summer for their permanent collections. This is great because it took over a year before the Ivy League Universities began buying Catching Tigers in Red Weather. Zero Summer has only been out since Feb 2009.

Demcak's language swoops the reader into a new world where otherwise bland objects & people become colorful. Sex is a common topic for Demcak whose chapter of the book "Between melting & freezing..." (from T.S. Eliot) warms the room to body temperature & puts the reader in limbo with his warm images. These poems are "ignited to a color" & reiterate the poet's reason for writing: mainly, keeping us on our toes about reality. Demcak blooms here in Zero Summer & his subject matter, from drug addiction to sex to natural occurrence (death, etc.) communicates itself through simple structures & origins & possesses an internal play on words. Demcak has weaved himself into the quilt of modern poetry with this release.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Last week, Mashable.com listed 100 writers who are active on Twitter. Guess who they totally left out? Yep, poets. Laurel Snyder, a fantastic poet, got a mention, but because of her writing for young adults and children. I know many of you aren't on Twitter, don't want to be on Twitter, don't understand the purpose of Twitter, etc. Basically, Twitter is micro-blogging 140 characters at a time. It works on the same basis as Facebook updates, but is faster and more convenient. You can post "tweets" from your computer, your mobile phone, etc.

I've got more than 600 folks following my stream and more join every day. I didn't get it either when I joined last summer, but I do now. Twitter's strength, for me, is supplying quick and useful links and news I can use. If you'll remember, it was Twitter that broke the news that Amazon had de-ranked GLBT books and made it a hot news item.

As a poet and soon-to-be-novelist, I've found Twitter to be helpful. So, because Mashable couldn't or wouldn't, here's a list of 40 poets who are active on Twitter. A few caveats for this list: I only included the poet if they've updated in the last couple of months. Use it or delete it is my motto. I'm sure I've missed some folks. Please note them in the comments and I will update the list.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

FROM MATTHEW HITTINGER'S BLOG:

Narcissus Resists and Pink Narcissus

Around the time Narcissus Resists was released poet Andrew Demcak wrote his five-part poem sequence Pink Narcissus in response to the 1971 James Bidgood film (which I also reference in Narcissus Resists). Andrew was kind enough to dedicate his poem to me in celebration of the release of Narcissus Resists (very sweet Andrew, thank you!).

You can read Andrew's mini e-chap HERE. (Yes, that's me on the cover, a painting courtesy of the very talented Didi Menendez who published both our projects).

Friday, April 10, 2009

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Yay! Prime real estate in the front window of Books Inc. in the Castro! Both of my books, Catching Tigers in Red Weather and Zero Summer.Check out those Tigers! It's sort of a Demcak altar.Yes, I am really here. It's a Facebook thing.Buy new my book Zero Summer!I can read with my eyes shut!I am showing off my new collagen lips.Peter's iPhone photos. I like that soft-focus quality.Thanks to everyone who came to see me read at Books Inc. in the Castro 04/21/09, and everyone who couldn't come but sent his/her best wishes.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Things are looking up for LGBTQ authors on Amazon.com after the censorship scandal. Currently at Amazon.com my book of poetry, Zero Summer, has a higher sales ranking than this Russian Orthodox Bible. Zero Summer's ranking is #1,652,942 compared to the hefty #4,202,120 sales raking of the Bible.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Excerpts from Mondrian's essayPlastic Art & Pure Plastic Art, which first appeared in 1937 in the British journalCircle.

"Although Art is fundamentally everywhere and always the same, nevertheless two main human inclinations, diametrically opposed to each other, appear in its many and varied expressions. One aims at thedirect creation of universal beauty, the other at theesthetic expression on oneself, in other words, of that which one thins and experiences. The first aims at representing reality objectively, the second subjectively. Thus we see in every work of figurative art the desire, objectively to represent beauty, solely through form and color, in mutually balanced relations, and, at the same time, an attempt to express that which these forms, colors, and relations arouse in us. The latter attempt must of necessity result in an individual expression which veils the pure representation of beauty."

"The laws which in the culture of art have become more and more determinate are thegreat hidden laws of nature which art establishes in its own fashion. It is necessary to stress the facts that these laws are more or less hidden behind the superficial aspects of nature. Abstract art is therefore opposed to a natural representation of things. But itis not opposed to natureas is generally thought. It is opposed to the raw primitive animal nature of man, but is one with true human nature. It is opposed to the conventional laws created during the culture of the particular form but it is one with the laws of the culture of pure relationships. First and foremost there is the fundamental law ofdynamic equilibriumwhich is opposed to the static equilibrium necessitated by the particular form. The important task then of all art is to destroy the static equilibrium by establishing a dynamic one. Non-figurative art demands an attempt of what is a consequence of this task, thedestructionof particular form and theconstructionof a rhythm of mutual relations, of mutual forms or free lines. We must bear in mind, however, a distinction between these two forms of equilibrium in order to avoid confusion; for when we speak of equilibrium pure and simple we may be for, and at the same time against, a balance in the work of art."

"In order that art may be really abstract, in other words, that it should not represent relations with the natural aspect of things, the law of thedenaturalization of matteris of fundamental importance. In painting, the primary color that is as pure as possible realizes this abstraction of natural color. But color is, in the present state of technique, also the best means for denaturalizing matter in the realm of abstract constructions in three dimensions; technical means are as a rule insufficient."

"According to our laws, it is a great mistake to believe that one is practicing non-figurative art by merely achieving neutral forms or free lines and determinate relations. For in composing these forms one runs the risk of a figurative creation, that is to say one or more particular forms. Non-figurative art is created by establishing adynamic rhythm of determinate mutual relationswhichexcludes the formation of any particular form. We note thus, that to destroy particular form is only to do more consistently what all art has done."

"In general, people have not realized that one can express our very essence through neutral constructive elements; that is to say, we can express the essence of art. The essence of art of course in not often sought. As a rule, individualist human nature is so predominant, that the expression of the essence of art through a rhythm of lines, colors, and relationships appears insufficient. Recently, even a great artist has declared that 'complete indifference to the subject leads to an incomplete form of art.' But everybody agrees that art is only a problem of plastics. What good then is a subject? It is to be understand that one would need a subject to expound something named 'Spiritual riches, human sentiments and thoughts.' Obviously, all this is individual and needs particular forms. But at the root of these sentiments and thoughts there is one thought and one sentiment: those do not easily define themselves and have no need of analogous forms in which to express themselves. It is here that neutral plastic means are demanded. For pure art then, the subject can never be an additional value, it is the line, the color, and their relations which must 'bring into play the whole sensual and intellectual register of the inner life...,' not the subject. Both in abstract art and in naturalistic art color expresses itself 'in accordance with the form by which it is determined,' and in all art it is the artists task to make forms and colors living and capable of arousing emotion. If he makes art into an 'algebraic equation' that is no argument against the art, it only proves that he is not an artist."

"It is therefore a mistake to suppose that a non-figurative work comes out of the unconscious, which is a collection of individual and pre-natal memories. We repeat that it comes from pure intuition, which is at the basis of the subjective-objective dualism. It is, however, wrong to think that the non-figurative artist finds impressions and emotions received from the outside useless, and regards it even as necessary to fight against them. On the contrary, all that the non-figurative artist receives from the outside is not only useful but indispensable, because it arouses in him the desire to creative that which he only vaguely feels and which he couldnever represent in a true manner without the contact with visible reality and with the life which surrounds him....That which distinguishes him from the figurative artist is the fact that in his creations he frees himself from individual sentiments and from particular impressions which he receives from outside, and that he breaks loose from the domination of the individual inclination within him. It is therefore equally wrong to think that the non-figurative artist creates through 'the pure intention of his mechanical process,' that he makes 'calculated abstractions,' and that he wishes to 'suppress sentiment not only in himself but also in the spectator.' It is a mistake to think that he retires completely into his system. That which is regarded as a system is nothing but constant obedience to the laws of pure plastics, to necessity, which art demands from him. It is thus clear that he has not become a mechanic, but that the progress of science, of technique, of machinery, of life as a whole, has only made him into a living machine, capable of realizing in a pure manner the essence of art. In this way, he is in his creation sufficiently neutral, that nothing of himself or outside of him can prevent him from establishing that which is universal. Certainly his art is art for art's sake ... for the sake of the artwhich is form and content at one and the same time."

This collection of poetry shows that Andrew Demcak is not afraid to tackle forms. Each poem in this collection is identical: 6 couplets, 10 syllable lines, and varying rhyme schemes. I see why this work has been compared so often to Berryman's "Dream Songs." The poems dance around with their language. I heard a radio interview with Demcak where he talked about his cut-up technique. It's very innovative. This is just about as powerful a collection as any poet's first book can be: full of heart and masterfully controlled technique.

I bough this book at a friend's recommendation. It is superb! What a talent. I like Randall Mann's work, too, but sometimes his forms seem a little bit too clever and evasive. Andrew Demcak's poems have both formal control and heart. A great collection from an emerging American poet.

Ghost Traces:

Andrew Demcak is an award-winning poet and novelist whose work has been widely published and anthologized both in print and on-line, and whose books have been featured by The American Library Association, Verse Daily, The Lambda Literary Foundation, The Best American Poetry blog, The Nervous Breakdown, and Poets/Artists. He was a *FINALIST* for the 2016 Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence in Poetry for his new book, Lazarus. About his latest Teen GLBTQ Sci-Fi Coming-Out novel, A Little Bit Langston, Kirkus Reviews raved "This book really ... takes its place in the marginalized-will-lead-us genre, as popularized by The Matrix and the X-Men franchises." His first Young Adult (YA) novel, Ghost Songs, was published March 13, 2014. His first literary novel, If There's A Heaven Above, was published January 5, 2013 by JMS Books, and was nominated by The American Library Association as an "Outstanding" novel for older Teens (17+). His first play, The Inevitable Crunch Factor, won the Cal Arts' New Playwrights Series and was cast and produced in a multi-week run. His fourth book of poetry, Night Chant, was published by Lethe Press. His other poetry books are: A Single Hurt Color, GOSS 183::Casa Menendez Press, 2010, Zero Summer, BlazeVOX [Books], NY, 2009 and his first poetry book, Catching Tigers in Red Weather, three candles press, 2007, which was selected by Joan Larkin to win the Three Candles Press Open Book Award.

He was a 2010 Finalist for The Crazyhorse Poetry Award. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Lambda Award, Thom Gunn Poetry Award, both the California and Northern California Book Awards, Best of the Web, and others. He has an M. F. A. in English/Creative Writing from St. Mary's College in Moraga, CA , where he studied with Robert Hass, Brenda Hillman, Michael Palmer, Carol Snow, Frank Bidart, Gary Snyder, Charles Wright, and Sharon Olds. Andrew is also a member of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, where he studied with Galway Kinnell, Richard Howard, and Lucille Clifton. His poems, including Young Man With iPod (Poetry Midwest, #13), are taught at Ohio State University as part of both its English 110.02 class, "The Genius and the Madman," and in its "American Poetry Since 1945" class. At the age of 23, Andrew published his first chapbook, The Psalms (Big 23 Press), which was favorably reviewed by Dr. Clifton Snider in the Small Press Review (issue 226, vol. 23, no. 11.)